Pedro Diniz has reached an agreement with the Sauber team, to drive for them in 1999. The Brazilian driver has yet to sign the contract with the Swiss team, but is said to have a binding agreement with them. He will bring with him sponsorship funds said to be worth 7 million USD. He will line up with Jean Alesi.

1999 will be Diniz' fifth season in Formula One. He started driving for Forti-Ford in 1995, moved to Ligier in 1996, and for the last couple of years drove for Arrows. He has recently said he would like to move onward to a more competitive team, having realized that Arrows is "not making progress," in his words.